Despite an array of exotic fruits, vegetables, flowers and animals awaiting visitors at the Moovattupuzha agricultural fair, what catches the visitors by surprise is the large collection of tubers and bananas that continue to add diversity to Kerala’s food basket.
Giant elephant foot yams and tapioca are the most common and eye-catching of these tubers but there are about half-a-dozen others, including colocasia, which are not found too frequently in vegetable stalls in the urban areas.
The exhibits are in the competition section of the eight-day ‘Karshikotsav 2013’ which got under way at the EEC Market in Moovattupuzha town on Sunday.
The event is being jointly organised by the Department of Agriculture, Moovattupuzha Block Panchayat, Moovattupuzha Municipality and the Ernakulam District Administration.
A department official guiding visitors at the venue said there were seven major varieties of bananas on display at the exhibition. Among them are various local specialities in the popular nendran variety itself.
Visitors, impressed by the collection, were seen clicking picture on their mobile phones and seeking explanations from officials manning the stalls.
The agricultural produces will be judged for their weight, quality and their appearance by a panel of senior officials of the Department of Agriculture.
Putting the importance of tuber crops in perspective, S. Ramanathan, Principle Scientist at Central Tuber Crops Research Institute in Thiruvananthapuram, told The Hindu over phone that several dozens of yam varieties were found in Kerala, especially in the hill areas. But only about 10 to 15 of them were known commonly.
Some of these yams were introduced into Kerala from countries like Brazil more than 400 years ago and they had spread out all over the State now, he said.
The popularity of the agricultural fare, which is an annual feature now in the town, was evident from swelling crowds at the exhibition venue on Monday, a working day. The seminar hall, where experts spoke on various aspects of farming, was nearly filled to capacity. The key feature of the sessions on Monday was the application of technology to day-to-day farming activities.
A working model of a farmer setting out to the market on his bicycle with a large collection of his produce welcomes the visitors to main venue. The visitors can also take a peek at a variety of pet birds and fishes on display at the venue before getting into the more serious business of farming.
